Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1813 - May 11 2012
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1813 with a release
date of May 11th, 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. High schoolers in California send
a ham radio balloon to the edge of space; Israeli hams
protest on-line against DXCC credit for the 7O6T operation
from Yemen; W5KUB to again netcast live from the Dayton Hamvention
and the latest on the Amateur Radio Direction Finding
Championship coming to San Diego. Find out the details are
on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1813 coming your
way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
HAM RADIO NEAR SPACE: ANACAPA HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON SOARS
TO NEAR 112000 FEET
We're not sure if it's a new world altitude record for a ham
radio equipped high altitude balloon, but members of the
Anacapa Near Space Exploration Club at California's Anacapa
School are celebrating the recent success of their second
near space probe. One that reached an altitude of almost
112,000 feet. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM,
has the rest of the story:
--
Balloon launch team: "5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Go!!"
--
That's the sound of a group of teenage near-space
adventurers lofting a high altitude balloon that would soon
soar above California's central coast and then eastward
toward the states central valley.
Called Anacapa Amateur High-Altitude Balloon 2, a student
team from the Anacapa School launched two payload capsules
tethered to a weather balloon on Saturday, May 5th.
Equipped with GPS, atmospheric sensors, high-definition
video and still cameras, a television transmitter and a
Geiger counter, the payload downlinked live data, video and
images during its ascent.
Anacapa Amateur High-Altitude Balloon 2 was designed and
built entirely by students that included Alex Carlson,
KJ6UGF and Genevieve Hatfield, KJ6UGH. They along with non-
hams Grayson Baggiolini, Julio Bernal and Christian Eckert
made up the construction and launch team that was under the
supervision of faculty advisor Levi Maaia, K6LCM.
--
K6LCM: "Two years ago in September of 2010, one of my
students, Connor Proctor and I got together and were talking
about some of the headlines we had seen on-line about high
altitude balloons and decided that it would be a neat
project to bring to the Anacapa School in Santa Barbara. So
we brought it to the Head Master of the school and said we
want to do this. He said what an awesome idea and was
behind us 110% as we sought funding for the project and put
together a small team of students to spearhead the first
launch."
--
As the balloon climbed through the thinning air, the
decreasing atmospheric pressure caused it to expand nearly
ten times in diameter. On reaching its apex above
California's Central Valley, the balloon burst, sending the
payload back to mother Earth under the canopy of a small
parachute. By reaching an altitude of 111,814 feet, this
flight shattered the record of the group's own first balloon
flight by more than 20,000 feet.
Over the coming weeks the students expect to thoroughly
document the flight and analyze the collected data. More
information, including photos and a condensed version of the
in-flight video can be found online at
www.anacapaschool.org/ansec
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, in
Reno.
--
And less we forget to mention, the student group has been
working on this high altitude ham radio balloon project
since September of 2011. (ARNewslineT)
**
SCHOOL HAM HAPPENINGS: UK SCHOOL TO HOLD D-STAR SPECIAL
EVENT WANTS CONTACTS
A United Kingdom school in the village of Gresham will be
hosting a special event station on May 23rd using the D-STAR
digital network. The event is specifically for children age
6 to 11 and will use the callsign GB2GVS which stands for
Gresham Village School.
Andy Johnston, 2E0AIV, is the event coordinator. He says
that they have already arranged link-ups with schools in
Northern Ireland, the United States and England, but are
looking for more countries and schools to participate. If
anyone is interested, they can contact Andy via e-mail to
2e0avi (at) 2e0aiv (dot) co (dot) uk.
**
ENFORCEMENT NEEDED: RADIO MYANMAR INTERFERENCE ON 40 METERS
The South African Radio League reports that Radio Myanmar
has been found to be broadcasting illegally on 7.110 MHz.
The station is transmitting using full carrier AM from 15:30
UTC every day and is causing interference on South Africa's
publicized region wide emergency communications frequency.
According to the South African Radio League, steps are being
taken to issue a formal objection but this takes time and
the correct procedures need to be followed. Meantime, South
Africa's Hamnet emergency communications response group has
sent an official complaint directly to Radio Myanmar and
requested that it move frequency. (SARL)
**
DX NEWS: 7O6T YEMEN OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC OVER
PROTESTS OF ISRAELI HAMS
Over complaints that were voiced on QRZ.com and other public
websites by some Israeli hams, the ARRL DXCC Awards Desk has
approved the current 7O6T operation from Yemen for DXCC
credit. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, is
here with more:
--
A small but vocal number of Israeli hams have been arguing
on-line that the 7O6T from Yemen should not be allowed for
DXCC because the operators refused to make contact with 4X
and 4Z prefix hams. They note that Israel has no banned
countries list and as such refusal of the 7O6T operators to
contact them was at least a violation of the principals and
the spirit of the DXCC program.
While its true that Israel has no banned countries list,
many of its neighbors consider themselves technically in a
state of war with the Jewish state and have been since its
creation through partitioning following World War 2. As
such these nations ban hams operating under their
jurisdiction from making contact with their counterparts in
Israel.
The 7O6T operation reportedly has the support of Yemen's
Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Information, the
Ministry of Radio and the Ministry of Telecommunications and
Information Technology. As such it is a pretty good guess
that not recognizing Israeli stations was a decree imposed
by Yemen on the 7O6T operating team and not one of their own
choosing.
At airtime, it's not known if any of the protesting Israeli
hams contacted the ARRL DXCC Desk regarding this issue of
if it was just another of those cyberspace only arguments.
Either way it came to an abrupt end on Saturday, May 5th.
That's when ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L,
issued a news release stating that the current 7O6T
operation from Yemen along with the earlier 6O3A DXpedition
to Somalia have been granted DXCC approval. As such, both
will be counted for DXCC credit.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in
Los Angeles.
--
The 7O6T adventure began at 2100 UTC Monday, April 30th and
has been causing massive pile-ups wherever the operators
show up. It will continue through 2100 UTC on May 15th.
Up until this operation began, Yemen was ranked as number 5
in the DX Magazine's list of most wanted entities behind
North Korea, plus Navassa, Bouvet and Heard Islands.
We will have more DX news later on in this week's Amateur
Radio Newsline report. (ARNewsline, QRZ.com, ARRL DXCC
Desk)
**
RESTRUCTURING: 6 METER EXTENSION GRANTED IN PORTUGAL
Now that terrestrial analog TV has been switched off in
Portugal, the National Communications Authority has agreed
to extend the 6 meter band for radio amateurs. As a result,
Portuguese Category 1, A and B amateurs can now use 50 to 52
MHz on a secondary basis with a maximum power output of 25
watts. (GB2RS)
**
RADIO RULES: VANITY CALLSIGN FEE MAY GO UP 80 CENTS
The FCC has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that,
among other things, would raise the cost of obtaining a
vanity callsign to $15.00 for a ten year license term. The
current cost is $14.20 which in essence means an increase of
only 80 cents if the rule making is approved. (FCC)
**
BREAK 1
From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the KJ3LR repeater serving Bradenton, Florida.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RADIO AND SCOUTING: BSA ANNOUNCES NEW MORSE CODE
INTERPRETER STRIP
The Boy Scouts of America have just announced a new
"Interpreter Strip" for Morse Code. An "Interpreter Strip"
on the uniform means that the Scout or adult leader is able
to communicate in a particular language. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Mark Abramovich, NT3V, explains:
--
Those older Scouts and former Scouts among you may remember
the Boy Scout requirements that said a Scout had to learn
Morse Code or signal flags to send and receive a message.
And, even though that requirement has disappeared and Morse
Code is no longer mandatory to get any amateur radio license
in the United States, the BSA is reviving Morse Code as a
"language" worth learning.
You can probably credit Jim Wilson, K5ND, for getting this
one from concept to reality.
He's the BSA's "Jamboree on the Air" organizer and the
volunteer chairman for the next K2BSA operation at the 2013
National Boy Scouts Jamboree at the Summit in West Virigina.
Wilson works at BSA headquarters in Texas and is a big
promoter of amateur radio in Scouting.
So much so, Wilson says he organized a national Radio
Scouting advisory committee last year to get stronger
support in the amateur and Scouting community for JOTA.
Earlier this year, Wilson says a member of that committee
made a suggestion about getting some additional Scouting
recognition for amateur radio.
Wilson says there were some ideas that eventually evolved
into exploring the "interpreter" strip worn on the Scout
uniform to show a Scout has some ability to speak a certain
language.
Wilson admits he came up with the idea for "Morse" on the
strip - but in the letters of the language - dah-dah, dah-
dah-dah, di-dah-dit, dit-dit-dit, dit."
Wilson says he quickly moved the idea over to the BSA's
national awards committee where it got a favorable reception
and approval within months.
So how does a boy earn it?
Wilson says there are three requirements, the first....
"It's carrying on a 5-minute conversation in Morse Code at a
speed of at least 5 words per minute," Wilson explains.
"And, then the second one, copying correctly a 2-minute
message sent in Morse Code at a minimum of 5-words-per-
minute.
"And, copying of course means writing the message down as
it's received. And, then, three, sending a 25-word written
document in Morse Code at a minimum of 5 words per minute."
Wilson says Scouts can be certified by their Scoutmaster or
maybe even a ham who's an adult Scout leader.
Wilson says the idea is to further cement the bonds of
brotherhood between Scouting and ham radio operators. And,
of course, Wilson is....
"Eager to increase participation in amateur radio to provide
an opportunity for Scouts to get involved in a fun hobby, a
hobby that promotes communicating with lots of Scouts and
others around the country and around the world," Wilson
says. "And, it's science, it's technology, it's engineering,
it's math - the stem items that are of enormous interest
right now and frankly have been in Boy Scouting for quite
some time."
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V,
in Philadelphia.
--
For more on the new Boy Scouts of America Interpreter Strip
for Morse Code please visit tinyurl.com/scouting-morse-code
on the World-Wide-Web. (NT3V, ARNewslineT)
**
ENFORCEMENT: FCC AFFIRMS $10000 FINE AGAINST OHIO AM
STATION
The FCC has affirmed a $10,000 Monetary Forfeiture Order it
issued to Taylor Broadcasting Company which is the licensee
of AM Station WJTB in Elyria, Ohio . This for the station
willfully and repeatedly violating Section 73.1125(a) of the
Commission's rules by failing to maintain a management and
staff presence at the station's main studio.
As previously reported, back on February 13th the
Enforcement Bureau's Detroit Office issued a Notice of
Apparent Liability in the amount of $10,000 to Taylor
Broadcasting. Since then, Taylor Broadcasting has not filed
a response to the NAL.
Now, based on the information before it, on May 2nd the FCC
has affirmed the monetary forfeiture. Its also given Taylor
Broadcasting the customary 30 days to pay the fine or to
file an appeal. (FCC)
**
MEDIA STATS: CABLE LOOSES AND OVER THE AIR VIEWERSHIP
REMAINS DOMINANT
Some fascinating home viewing media statistics. According
to Multichannel News, United States cable system operators
lost about 2 point 9 million video subscribers in 2011.
That's a drop of 1 point 5 percent in the overall pay-TV
market.
Meanwhile, households with broadband and only free, over-the-
air broadcast TV increased by 631,000 over the course of
last year, climbing 14% to 5.1 million. Broadcast-only
homes dropped 1%, to about 11 million households versus
11.15 million a year earlier.
Whether or not the broadband-plus-free-TV increase reflects
a gathering cord-cutting trend, the survey found that 98% of
video viewing remained on traditional TV in the 4th quarter
of 2011. (Multichannel News)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: ILLW REGISTRATION HITS THE 200 MARK
Registration for the 2012 International Lighthouse and
Lightship Weekend has topped the double century mark. This
with word that the West Side Amateur Radio Club of Los
Angeles is the 200th registratant for this years event with
its members operating station W6A at the Port Fermin
Lighthouse located near the San Pedro port area of the city.
The entry by the West Side Amateur Radio Club puts the USA
on 28 registrations/ Australia is so far number one with 38
followed by Germany 33, England with 16, and The Netherlands
sporting 13. The total of nations committed to the event so
far is nearing 30.
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend will be held
on August the 18th and 19th. Find out more or register your
lighthouse by visiting the ILLW (dot) net. (VK3PC)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: NORTHERN IRELAND AMATEUR RADIO CONFERENCE
JUNE 16
From the ham radio social page, if you plan to be in Ireland
on June 16th, you might want to stop by the Northern Ireland
Amateur Radio Conference. Sponsored by the West Tyrone
Amateur Radio Club the venue this year is the Technology
Education Centre in the town of Omagh. Featured will be
lectures, seminars and demonstrations along with commercial
vendors and booth representing special interest groups and
various national amateur radio societies. Again the date
for the 2012 Northern Ireland Amateur Radio Conference at
the Technology Education Centre in Omagh. (IRTS)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: W5KUB TO NETCAST LIVE FROM HAMVENTION 2012
Closer to home, Tom Medlin, W5KUB, will once again be
streaming live television from the 2012 Dayton Hamvention.
Tom will begin his live webcast on Wednesday morning May
16th at 0800 Central, broadcasting his 550 mile drive. He
will then set up shop in the Hamvention Flea Market and will
spend the next three days bringing you the sights and sounds
of Hamvention 2012 before live-casting his drive home.
While on the web from Hamvention Tom and his crew will be
interviewing some of ham radios best known celebrities.
This includes television producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, of the
hit television comedy Last Man Standing.
So if you cannot be at Hamvention in person, you can enjoy
part of the festivities vicariously by tuning in via the
Internet to w5kub dot com. Again that's w5kub dot com for
this years live netcast from Hamvention 2012. (W5KUB)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: NEWSLINE FORUM AT HAMVENTION - "HAM RADIO
IN THE YEAR 2112"
Also a reminder that we at Amateur Radio Newsline will once
again be hosting the annual Ham Radio Town Meeting at
Hamvention 2012. This years topic is titled "Imagining the
Future: Ham Radio in the Year 2112" and takes an optimistic
look at the way we may be operating as a hobby and a service
100 years from now.
This years presenters include CQ Magazine Editor Rich
Moseson, W2VU; IARU Secretary Rod Staffdord, W6ROD and
teenage ham radio high altitude balloon enthusiast Erin
King, AK4JG, to name only three. They will be joined by
several other notables from the world of amateur radio on a
journey through time into what may be our future.
Look for us on Saturday, May 20th in Meeting Room 2 at the
Hara Arena. Our session runs from 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
and we promise you a fun and imaginative time. We hope to
see many of you there. (ARNewslineT)
**
BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the
United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline
with links to the world from our only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer
services of the following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
**
OFF THE AIR: RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL TO END SHORTWAVE
AND SATELLITE BROADCASTS
The shortwave bands will soon be a little less entertaining.
This after it was announced that an 80% budget cut is
forcing Radio Canada International to abandon shortwave and
satellite radio broadcasting, leaving the World-Wide-Web as
RCI's only delivery method.
The latest cut of $10 million takes place on June 26th.
Once in effect, a date will be set to end the broadcasts
from Radio Canada International's Sackville, New Brunwick,
transmission site which will then be abandoned. Besides
ending shortwave and satellite broadcasting, Radio Canada
International will also lose its news operation and cease
producing its own programming. (RW)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: K9VV APPOINTED NEW SECTION MANAGER FOR
THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS
Some names in the news. First up is Fred Kleber, K9VV, who
has been appointed as Section Manager of the Virgin Islands
Section beginning May 1, 2012. Kleber, of Christainsted, is
taking the reins from John Ellis, NP2B, who is planning to
move out of the section. Ellis has been Section Manager of
the Virgin Islands since 1996. Kleber has served as the
Section Emergency Coordinator of the Virgin Islands this
past year. (ARRL)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: THREE SHUTTLE VETERANS INDUCTED INTO THE
ASTRONAUT HALL OF FAME
The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame has inducted three new space
travelers into its ranks. On Saturday, May 5th, Kevin
Chilton, Franklin Chang Diaz, and Charles Precourt, became
the Hall of Fame's 11th class of space shuttle astronauts
and the first to be inducted after the 30 year program had
come to its end.
The three were enshrined during a public ceremony held at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida,
which includes the Hall of Fame. To have been eligible for
induction in 2012, the astronauts needed to have made their
first space mission in 1994 or earlier. They also had to be
retired from flight status as a NASA commander, pilot or
mission specialist for at least five years, be a U.S.
citizen; and have orbited the Earth at least once.
Induction of the shuttle veterans raised the number of
honorees in the Hall of Fame to 81. This includes all of
the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo pioneers. (NASA via N6ZXJ)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FOX PROJECT REVIEW SAYS BIRD
DEVELOPMENT ON TRACK
AMSAT's Fox Satellite Project has completed its preliminary
design review and is looking good. Mechanical, RF, control,
power, and related issues were evaluated at the three night
session in late April with the needed development for
various systems refined.
One thing that became evident is that AMSAT is in need of an
experienced RF designer for the Fox-1 satellite. Due to
international trade restrictions the person must be a US
citizen or permanent resident. If you interested please
send an e-mail with your phone number to Tony Monteiro to
AA2TX (at) amsat (dot) org.
Currently, Fox-1 is slated for launch in the second half of
2013. (AMSAT-NA)
**
AWARDS NEWS: DXCC ONLINE APPLICATION TURN-AROUND.
The ARRL's new on-line DXCC application system appears to be
up and running quite smoothly. This according to Steve
Lawrence, WB6RSE, of Los Angeles California.
WB6RSE tells the Ohio Penn DX Newsletter that he submitted
an Online DXCC application just prior to the recent
International DX Convention in Visalia, California. At the
convention he had his cards checked and the paperwork
accepted for forwarding to the DXCC desk for processing.
Just two weeks later, the credits appeared in Steve's
Logbook of the World DXCC Account Status. (OPDX)
**
ON THE AIR: KK5W FROM GALVESTON TEXAS ON MUSEUM SHIPS
WEEKEND
On the air, listen out for members of the Brazos Valley
Amateur Radio Club activating the call KK5W to be active
during the Museum Ships Weekend on June 2nd and 3rd.
Operations will be from radio rooms of WWII Submarine USS
Cavalla and Destroyer Escort USS Stewart at Seawolf Park on
Pelican Island in Galveston, Texas. They plan to operate on
40 through 10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL with a self
addressed stamped envelope to KK5W as listed on QRZ.com.
More information is available on-line at www.bvarc.org
(BVARC)
**
DX
In DX, the Wessex Contest Group will be operating from the
Isle of Skye through the 19th of May. They will be using a
variety of equipment including some homebrew gear, a number
of QRP stations along with the normal high power modern
contest gear. QSL via EB7DX either direct, via the bureau
or via Logbook of The World.
F5IRO is expected to return to Uganda in early May. With
the help of 5X1D he hopes to get his license during the
first week and plans to become QRV on CW on the high
frequency bands in the evenings. Some PSK may be possible
also. QSL via F8DFP.
DH2AK and DL1THM, will be active portable PJ2 from Curacao
on a holiday style operation through May 18th. They will be
on the air using the PJ2A club station mainly on SSB on 20
and 15 meters. QSL via bureau to their home calls.
Brothers ZB3M and ZB2ER are using the special calls ZQ3M and
ZQ2ER from Gibralter through June 10th. This, to celebrate
the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. QSL direct only to ZB3M.
ZS6RGV is the new radio operator on the Marion Island base.
His equipment includes an Icom IC-736 transceiver and FL-
7000 amplifier. ZS1HF is going to help him with applying for
a ZS8 call and will act as his QSL manager.
Lastly, an international team of operators will be on the
air as 3D2C from Conway Reef between September 24th and
October 5th. Activity will be on 160 through 2 meters using
CW, SSB, RTTY, SSTV and PSK31. QSL via YT1AD, direct or by
the bureau.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: ARDF CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING TO SAN DIEGO CA
And finally this week, they call themselves foxtailers, but
they're not really after those bushy-tailed creatures.
Here's the straight scoop from Newsline's Joe Moell, K0OV,
who is also ARRL's Direction Finding Coordinator.
--
They range in age from the teens to the 70's, and they're
coming from all over the USA to compete in the most physical
of all ham radio sports. I'm talking about on-foot hidden
transmitter hunters, also called foxtailers and radio-
orienteers. Their sport is called Amateur Radio Direction
Finding, or ARDF.
It's all done on foot in a BIG outdoor space. Thanks to a
set of standard international rules, it's pretty much the
same all over the world, so we can have international
competitions. Your mission is to try to find up to five
hidden ham radio transmitters without assistance while on
the run, or trotting, or just walking. You'll carry a map
and compass so you don't get lost.
You can mix in with the USA's best radio-orienteers at the
twelfth national ARDF championships in the mountains east of
San Diego during the week and weekend after Memorial Day. It
starts off with two days of intense training, followed by
three days of competition, all near Mount Laguna. You can
stay in the lodge there or camp out among the tall pines.
Learn from the experts, then see how you do for yourself out
on the courses. You don't have to be a marathoner to be
successful, but it helps to be in good shape. There are nine
separate categories with medals for the best three in each,
so you'll only be competing against people of your own age
range and gender. If you're in the top three of your
category, you'll get a medal, and maybe you'll be invited to
join ARDF Team USA as it travels to Serbia for the World
ARDF Championships this September.
Registration for the championships is now open, so start
making plans. You can read all the details and get the
registration form on the web at www.homingin.com. That's
homingin -- as one word -- homingin.com.
I hope to see YOU at the championships. For Amateur Radio
Newsline, this is Joe Moell K-Zero-Oscar-Victor.
--
Again, for more information on this and other ham radio
direction finding events, please take your web browser to
www dot homingin dot com. (K0OV)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX
Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, TWiT TV, the
Southgate News and Australia's WIA News, that's all from the
Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline
(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at
Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us
at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa
Clarita California, 91350
A reminder that the nominating period for the 2012 Amateur
Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is now open.
Full details and a downloadable nominating form are on our
website at arnewsline.org/yhoty.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk,
I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, saying 73 from Charleston, West
Virginia, and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights
reserved.